But, the acorn mass crop across the eastern seaboard was low. Park Biologist Jenny Beeler said they were left with less food to eat.

"The acorn mass crop was the lowest it's ever been since we started keeping track in 2007," she said.

As a result, more bears went to sleep on empty stomachs and now they are waking up hungry. Park Ranger Scott Teodorski said it's all happening at a time where there's not a lot of food for them to even eat.

"As they start to go for the food, and they're a little more desperate for the food, they start to do things they normally wouldn't do," he said. "They start to get a little bit brave."

Rangers say in the next few weeks we should expect to see more bears in places we typically don't, including residential neighborhoods.

VIDEO: PSA produced by Cumberland Gap National Park

The Cumberland Gap National Park has created a media campaign to inform locals about how to handle bears. Above is a 30-second Public Service Announcement. 4-25-14

The Cumberland Gap National Park said it has talked about "hazing" bears at night to make them fear humans. That practice would involve the use of beanbag rounds, rubber bullets and loud noises.

The park has also put together a media campaign to teach locals about what they can do to keep bears out of their neighborhoods.

"It's about getting our community involved to help them help us to all help the bears," said Teodorski.

The park shared these suggestions it got from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries as to how you handle bears in your community.

The best way to encourage the bear not to return is to remove the food source. Do not store household trash, or anything that smells like food, in vehicles, on porches or decks. Keep your full or empty trash containers secured in a garage, shed or basement. Take your garbage to the dump frequently.

If you have a trash collection service, put your trash out the morning of the pickup, not the night before.